Inevitably, the rabbits tried to escape and it is perhaps no surprise that the latin name 'Oryctolagus cuniculus' means 'hare-like digger of underground tunnels'. The Romans called this practice 'cuniculture' and kept the rabbits in fenced enclosures. When the Romans arrived in Spain around 200BC, they began to farm the native rabbits for their meat and fur. The European wild rabbit evolved around 4,000 years ago on the Iberian Peninsula, the name 'Hispania' (Spain) is translated from the name given to that area by Phoenician merchants, meaning 'land of the rabbits'.

It is a seperate species from other native rabbits such as the North American jackrabbits and cottontail rabbits and all species of hares. There are currently more than 60 recognised breeds of domestic rabbit in Europe and America, all of them descended from the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the only species of rabbit to have been widely domesticated. The break-up of continents during this period may be responsible for the wide distribution of differing species of rabbits and hares around the world, with the exception of Australia. Fossil records suggest that Lagomorpha evolved in Asia at least 40 million years ago, during the Eocene period. Rabbits belong to the order of mammals called Lagomorpha, which includes 40 or so species of rabbits, hares and Pikas.

Fossil records suggest that Lagomorpha evolved in Asia.

Download is the order the rabbit